Urgent Need for Permitting Reform to Secure America's Energy Future

Floor Speech

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Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1, we heard that bill today. I had a chance to speak on it, the Lowering Energy Costs Act. This is one of the steps that we can take as this Congress to get the permitting process under control, save money for Americans that seek to go through this process, and have a healthier economy and environment.

In fact, I would ask my colleague from Minnesota: Aren't we all environmentalists these days?

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Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, we all care about the environment. It isn't like 50, 60 years ago. In fact, we live in regions where I think about our paper mills from decades ago where there was sludge that went down those rivers. In fact, I ran our dinner and excursion boat on one of those rivers, the Wisconsin River. People were so surprised when they came on our boat and said: Wow, this used to be covered with sludge. We didn't see eagles and loons and wildlife like that back in our day, but we do see it now.

The same thing has happened in north Minnesota, hasn't it?

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Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, we just heard a statement from the President that was read just before we came here as the Western Caucus, and he talked about the infrastructure bill and other pieces of legislation that are doing these wonders for Americans.

I would just point out a few flaws with what he is saying. If you go to Vilas County in the Seventh Congressional District in Wisconsin, right near where I live, and there is a small town that is attempting to get a road project done via Federal funding with the infrastructure bill. The quote that they have gotten, as a result of having to go through Federal permitting, is $1.5 million. I think it is to fix 2.6 miles of road.

I went to a local road contractor and asked them: How much would it cost if you didn't have to go through the Federal process?

Half of that, $750,000.

We are not going to get the bang for our buck and get more projects done, including ones that could benefit the environment, as a result of having to pay far more for that Federal permitting process.

Also, the President talked extensively about the Green New Deal and this great thing that is going to happen to the United States of America. Wisconsin was just warned this last year for the first time that we may be subject to blackouts this summer.

Why is that? Because we are going to intermittent sources of power. We are not replacing our baseload power.

The gentleman next to me from Minnesota knows all about a project that is going on in a community right across from his hometown of Duluth, Minnesota, in Superior, Wisconsin, the Nemadji Trail Project.

You are very familiar with that, aren't you?

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Mr. TIFFANY. The Nemadji Trail Project is a natural gas project to produce electricity to be able to provide that baseload power, especially if we are going to go to more intermittent sources of power.

Guess what the Biden EPA is doing?

They have brought the hammer down on that project and said: We are going to make you go through this permitting process even longer, which has already been for 5 years. This is nearly a billion-dollar investment to provide reliable, affordable, clean electricity for people that live in the northland of the upper Midwest of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Here, the Biden administration is trying to stop that project. That is what is happening.

I say we can have both a clean environment and a growing economy. In fact, I would say if we don't have a growing economy, we will not have a clean environment.

What funds those environmental projects?

I saw it as a State legislator. What funds that is when we have a robust economy.

I just think about when we had our business, Wilderness Cruises, my wife and I, for 20 years.

When did we do well?

We did well when the industrial economy was doing well, when the paper mills and the various industrial plants were doing well. When they were doing well, we were doing well. When they didn't, we didn't do well.

It is not mutually exclusive, the environment and the economy. Having a healthy environment and a healthy economy go together.

It is time to reform NEPA. These are really modest changes that we are making in the Lowering Energy Costs Act. We are not changing environmental standards. We believe in high environmental standards, but we need to do it in a more expeditious manner.

The gentleman from Minnesota, what did you say, 20 years for the mining project?

Is that the Twin Metals project?

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Mr. TIFFANY. The Biden administration brought the hammer down on that one also, didn't they?

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Mr. TIFFANY. Mr. Speaker, how are we going to have transition to this electrified economy? How are we going to do that if we do not have the metals to do it?

We can't. There is no doubt about it.

But let's be really clear. I thought the Speaker did a terrific job today of laying out what the choice is.

Are you on the side of China and Russia, or are you on the side of the United States of America?

That is really the choice. Because we are deciding at this point. With bills like this, we are deciding: Is the 21st century going to be an American century, or is it going to be a communist Chinese century?

The communist Chinese Government has made it very clear, they seek world dominance, they seek to be the country of the 21st century that everyone will turn to, just like America was in the 20th century.

The choice is before us. Is this going to be an American century, the 21st century, just like the 20th century, or not?

If you are on the side of America, you will be voting for the Lowering Energy Costs Act.

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